M. Susan Ridgely

This book updates the policy context of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) patient safety initiative; documents the current priorities and activities undertaken; and assesses contributions of funded projects and dissemination actions to support adoption of evidence-based safe practices. It discusses implications for future AHRQ policy, programming, and research; suggests ways to strengthen AHRQ activities. It evaluates progress of the patient safety initiative led by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), focusing on how the current experiences of AHRQ and its funded projects can be used to strengthen subsequent program activities.

This guide exmaines the adoption of innovative medical techniques by managed care organization (MCOs). The authors discuss how the MCO's make medical-necessity and payment decisions involving these technologies and the ways in which this process could be improved.